


Proximity

by ColourMyGalaxies



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Adult!AU, Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Fluff, M/M, so many feelingsssss, teacher!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2015-09-05
Packaged: 2018-04-19 03:31:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4731266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColourMyGalaxies/pseuds/ColourMyGalaxies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teacher!AU</p><p>Ishimaru Kiyotaka, a teacher at Hope's Peak Academy, just can't keep his eyes off of the new physical education teacher, Oowada Mondo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Proximity

**Author's Note:**

> I know I should be updating my Editing Firm AU, but I couldn't resist writing a short Teacher AU! /)^3^(\  
> japanese & history teacher Mr. Ishimaru getting the blushy blushies for and fangirling about P.E. teacher Mr. Oowada AHHHHHH  
> 

The first of April was Ishimaru Kiyotaka's favourite day because it was the fresh start of a new school year. He had liked school immensely as a student, and he still liked it even now as a teacher. He loved teaching, contributing to his students' educations, and helping them prepare for their futures, all while learning more and more himself. He found pride in being able to aid the next generation of intellects and workers. He earnestly and sincerely wished to see kids learn and grow through his teachings and with his help, and that was why he labored and toiled endlessly to become a teacher and still worked hard to this day.

The first day of school had started out normally, with the students gathering in the gymnasium for the opening ceremony. Headmaster Kirigiri Jin had given a speech, then beckoned for all the teachers to stand at the front for introductions.

Ishimaru had been the first one to introduce himself. He was Mr. Ishimaru, the Japanese and senior History teacher, and this was his fifth year of teaching at Hope's Peak Academy. All the other teachers, all of whom Ishimaru was familiar with, introduced themselves, and he paid barely any mind to them until they reached the last teacher in line.

Headmaster Kirigiri took the microphone from Mrs. Mioda, the eccentric music department teacher, and stated, "Students, you may have noticed that Mr. Nidai is absent from today's ceremony. He has decided to coach for national sports teams, and though we are sad to see him go, we were lucky to be able to find a new physical education teacher on such short notice. Everyone, this is Mr. Oowada."

The first thing Ishimaru noticed was how sculpted and muscular the new teacher was. Granted, Nidai had also been buff, but the former teacher had been so packed with muscle that he looked ridiculous and gigantic, not to mention he was also nearly two metres tall. On the other hand, Oowada was a modest height of just a little over six feet, and his build was god-like. His tan skin and his tight black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows helped to accentuate how toned he was. The top part of his hair was brown and shaggy, with the tips falling just below his eyebrows, while the sides and back were black and shaved. Ishimaru couldn't see from this distance, but Oowada's eyes looked... pink. A very light, piercing, and electric pink.

When teacher introductions were over, Ishimaru mentally scolded himself. How indecent of him to make Oowada a subject of lust in his mind! How terrible of him to ogle over his new co-worker, who just came here to teach! These thoughts could be taken as non-consented sexual harassment and were not condoned and he was ashamed of himself! This was just a phase, he would stop thinking of Oowada soon, his brain was just obsessed for the moment because Oowada was a new and unfamiliar person.

Or so he thought.

Many months later, Ishimaru still could not keep his eyes off of Oowada. He originally thought himself to be heterosexual, for he had always been a fairly traditional and moral man. But when Ishimaru pondered more on it, he realized that being homosexual was not actually bad, nor did it prevent him from upholding public morals. In fact, he wasn't even sure if he was homosexual. He had never felt romantic attraction to anybody before Oowada, afterall. But there  _was_ one thing Ishimaru was sure about, and that was the fact that Oowada never even bothered to look his way.

Sure, they worked as teachers in the same school, but humanities and physical education were vastly different departments, so their paths never seemed to meet. Even when Ishimaru did see Oowada, it was in the staff room during the occasional meetings, or briefly when they passed each other in the hallways. He never saw the P.E. teacher at lunch because Oowada ate in his little office in the gymnasium.

Realistically, why would Oowada notice him? They barely saw each other. There was nothing spectacular about him; nothing that made him stand out from the crowd. Hope's Peak was an enormous school with numerable staff members, afterall. Plus, Oowada probably fancied women, not socially awkward male co-workers.

More often than not, Ishimaru wondered why he even had such a big crush on somebody he barely knew. They had never spoken to each other. Hell, he didn't even know what Oowada's voice sounded like. He barely knew _anything_ about Oowada. In the seven months Oowada had been teaching, the only things Ishimaru had learned about the P.E. teacher was that his given name was Mondo, he had received a mountain of chocolates on Valentine's Day, and that his eyes were a gorgeous lilac, not pink.

Ishimaru tried to convince himself daily that he merely liked how Oowada looked, that he was just infatuated with Oowada's outward appearance. That he wasn't attracted to his co-worker; he simply thought of his co-worker as attractive. And yet thoughts of the beautiful P.E. teacher constantly plagued his mind.

Whenever he fantasized about him and Oowada as a couple, he quickly countered his own dreams with painful reality. The two of them could never work out as boyfriends, they were much too different. Although there was a saying claiming "Opposites Attract," Ishimaru had never even associated with the man, so what was there for Oowada to be attracted to? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

One day, while his class was taking a test about both of the world wars, he stared out of the window to watch Oowada and his P.E. class playing ultimate frisbee. Fate had been kind to him, as his classroom was on the second floor and beside the field, giving him a nice aerial view of Oowada whenever he and his class had to go outside for their curriculum. He dreamily stared at Oowada running and jumping, admiring the way his muscles stretched and rippled. He snapped his focus back to his class occasionally to check for cheaters, and then immediately went back to gazing fondly at the work of art that was Oowada Mondo. After everybody had finished their tests and the bell signaling the beginning of lunch rang, Ishimaru set out to the staff room to eat his lunch. When he returned to his classroom, he was greeted with the sight of his desk smashed into pieces.

The culprits were eventually identified to be five first-years who referred to themselves as the "Warriors of Hope," and were punished accordingly with two-week suspensions and detentions for the rest of the school year. After school, Headmaster Kirigiri approached Ishimaru in a corridor.

"Don't worry about finances, Kiyotaka," he said, "We'll use Hope's Peak's budget to get you a new desk in no time."

"Sir, forgive me for being childish," Ishimaru replied, "But, I do not want a new desk."

Jin furrowed his brows in confusion. "What? But as a teacher, you need a desk!"

"You misunderstand me. I realize I need a desk to do my work properly. I... I just want my old desk back."

"But... it's been shattered into..."

Tears blurred Ishimaru's vision, and he lifted his glasses to wipe the moisture from his eyes. "I know! I mean, I apologize for interrupting the headmaster! It is just... that desk belonged to my late father... who inherited it from my late grandfather... It was so precious to me, and I want it back, but I know I can't-"

"What's this 'bout a desk?"

At the sound of a voice that was not Jin's, a voice that was completely unfamiliar to him, Ishimaru spun around to come face to face with Oowada Mondo in the flesh. The P.E. teacher was standing right beside Ishimaru in all of his brilliance, clad in a v-neck t-shirt, shorts, and a black and white Hope's Peak Academy track jacket. A gold-coloured whistle hung from his neck by a Hope's Peak Academy lanyard, causing Ishimaru's attention to zero in on Oowada's defined neck, adam's apple, and collarbones. Ishimaru could swear he felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach, for he had never been this close to Oowada before.

"Ah, Mondo," Jin responded, "I'm sure you've heard that Kiyotaka's desk was, er, destroyed."

Oowada blinked. "...Kiyotaka?"

"Mr. Ishimaru's given name."

"Oh. Uh, yeah, I heard. A-About the desk, I mean." 

Ishimaru averted his eyes and stared at the floor. Waves of disappointment and sadness swept over him. Of course Oowada didn't know his name. He was too insignificant.

Jin continued, "Well, we were just discussing replacements for the desk."

Oowada raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Sounded to me like Ishimaru didn't want it replaced."

"Y-You heard that?!" Ishimaru shrilled, feeling his face flush a bright pink.

"Yeah." Oowada rubbed the back of his neck. "Mr. Kirigiri, I have a proposal for you."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Gimme the cash you'd pay for a teacher's desk and I'll make an exact replica of Ishimaru's old desk."

"What?" Jin inquired, "No, that won't be necessary. You can't."

Ishimaru gawked at the P.E. teacher. Had Oowada really offered to do that for him...?

"Whaddya mean I can't? I'm pretty much this school's carpenter. You've commissioned me to build a cart for the audio-visual team, drawers for the staff room, tables for the cafeteria, a pulley for the gymnasium, and dividers for every single student here so they don't cheat on tests. I'm plenty capable."

Ishimaru interjected, "Although you may be skilled, that desk was antique and unique. You couldn't possibly replicate it."

"I've walked by yer classroom so many times I probably memorized how the desk looks like. I can do it."

Hearing that his crush peered into his classroom that many times, the humanities teacher's heart skipped a beat. Maybe, just maybe...

"...Fine," Jin sighed, "Then I assume I can leave this matter into your hands, Mondo?"

"Yeah," Oowada affirmed, "Can I ask for 27,000 yen, then?"

The headmaster smirked. "Of course." He then strolled away, leaving the two teachers alone in the hallway.

An awkward silence settled between the two and time seemed to tick extremely slowly. Ishimaru's brain was conflicted between striking up a conversation with his crush and processing what had just happened. The quiet only made Ishimaru more nervous around Oowada than usual. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, trying to search for the words to say.

"So," Oowada said, breaking the silence, "D'you have a piece of the desk that I could see or somethin'?"

Ishimaru nodded. "Y-Yes! It's in my classroom. Come on in." They entered the room together, and Oowada closed the door behind him and waited in the centre of the room as Ishimaru opened a cupboard and dug out a piece of his old desk he had managed to salvage before the janitor arrived. He held it out to Oowada, again bewildered at how close he was to the crush he had only admired from afar before.

"Here! Please be careful not to get a splinter!"

"Thanks." As Oowada reached out to receive it, his hand brushed against Ishimaru's in a instance of bare skin against bare skin. Ishimaru blushed furiously, squirming and frantically trying to prevent strangled whimpers of delight from escaping his throat. Although the contact was momentary, the shock of the sensation wracked through Ishimaru's body in a strange series of vibrations and chills. He was so shocked that he didn't even realize that Oowada had already taken the wood from his hand and was inspecting it thoroughly, running his finger along the edge and squinting at it.

"I'll be taking this home t' get the colour and type of wood down on pat," Oowada commented, "D'you have any other details 'bout the desk you remember?"

"Y-Yes, I do!" As Ishimaru rambled on and on about what he remembered about his old desk, he couldn't help but think about Oowada's voice, the voice he hadn't heard until now. Looking at only the man himself, Ishimaru had assumed Oowada's voice would have been deeper and more alluring, but in reality, it was gruff and possibly higher than his own voice. Oowada also spoke a bit crudely, slurring consonants and vowels, contracting and mispronouncing words as if he used to speak in some sort of dialect. But Ishimaru found his co-worker's voice endearing; it gave Oowada a bit of spunk and more of a personality than "hot buff dude."

After Ishimaru was done, the awkward silence returned, and Ishimaru knew he had to think fast or else his crush would excuse himself and leave! He did not want that! He wanted to spend more time, no matter how little, with the one he obsessed over so much!

"Er, so, Oowada," Ishimaru asked, "If you are a physical education instructor, how did you come to be so competent at carpentry?"

Oowada's eyes widened at Ishimaru, then darted over to the window. He glanced back at Ishimaru and... blushed?

"When I was a high school student, I really wanted to be a carpenter an' shit, so I snagged an apprenticeship as soon as I graduated. But, even though I finished it, I couldn't get a job."

"What? Why? From what I've heard, you sound excellent at building things!"

"Er..." Oowada fidgeted,  _definitely_ blushing now, "I... I used to be a biker gang leader. So even if I got hired, management'd find out of my past soon afterwards and fire the fuck outta my ass."

"Wait. You?" Ishimaru questioned, stunned, "You used to be a biker gang leader?"

"Yeah, I rocked a pompadour and shit, too."

Well, at least that explained the crude way of speaking and the constant swearing.

"That sounds ridiculous! And a borderline violation of the dress code!"

"Dun gimme that shit, Ishimaru."

Ishimaru flinched at the vulgar language Oowada was using, but in a sense, didn't that indicate that Oowada was comfortable speaking to him? That his co-worker was warming up to him? And Oowada had said his name, too!

"Well, continue your story, Oowada! How did you end up becoming a physical education teacher?"

"K, so, I figured that my past as a biker gang leader pretty much fucked me over, messed up any chance of me gettin' a job as a carpenter, y'know? So I moved to Tokyo and miraculously got into a decent university. I studied human kinetics for four years, then I applied to a shitload of places."

"And, even though the carpentry field fired you for your past as a delinquent, somehow, you got hired at Hope's Peak Academy...?"

"That coach guy, Nidai Nekomaru...? Anyway, he resigned pretty last minute, and I guess nobody else was lookin' for a job as a P.E. teacher that late 'cause here I am. And I think even if Mr. Kirigiri found out about my past, he wouldn't give a flying fuck, he likes using my carpentry skills too damn much to fire me."

Ishimaru silently thanked the headmaster for not firing his crush. He then reveled in his current situation. The ice between him and Oowada had been broken, he was learning about the latter's life, and increased the proximity between them, all because his desk had been annihilated by his students.

"Y'know, to be honest," Oowada confessed, "I've always wanted to talk to you, but I just couldn't."

Ishimaru jerked his head up to look into Oowada's lilac eyes. What did he just say? That his crush... had always wanted to talk to him? Mediocre, plain, insignificant him?

"Ha ha ha... you should not joke about these things, Oowada. You didn't even know I existed until now, let alone noticed my presence."

"Who're you to say that? That's not it at all. I did 'notice yer presence,' I have ever since that teacher introduction!" Oowada took a step closer to Ishimaru, and Ishimaru in turn took one step back in surprise. "You were th' first one in line, and when I looked over, I see this handsome as fuck dude with stupid sexy black-rimmed glasses framing his f-freaking red eyes and sculpted eyebrows perfectly. You looked fuckin' hot in that t-tailored suit of yers, okay?! I found you intri... intree... I, shit, FUCK! GOD DAMNIT!"

"Are you, by any chance, attempting to say 'intriguing'?" suggested Ishimaru.

"Y-YES! Yes. Yer intriguing. I... fuck, I needed to know more 'bout ya and talk t' ya but there just weren't any chances! And then all the other staff members'd always talk about how competent an' remarkable you were at doin' yer work. But then my TA, that Kuwata kid, would always talk about how strict you are and how straight-laced an' uptight you are about the rules and shit but then I'd see ya in th' hallway consoling a student an' then sincerely helping other kids learn and I just... FUCK. I JUST NEEDED TO FUCKING KNOW YOU AND TALK TO YOU, DAMNIT!"

Ishimaru vaguely remembered Kuwata as a third-year student in his senior Japanese class, who sat in the back row and had fiery red hair. The teacher was sure that his face was the same colour as Kuwata's hair right now because of how hard he was blushing from Oowada's sudden confession.

"A-And... um..." Oowada muttered, "That's why I offered to make you th' desk... I eavesdropped on yer conversation with Mr. Kirigiri an' I just couldn't stand the fact that you were  _crying_ and I wanted to make ya feel better somehow an' I took th' desk as a chance t' talk to ya! C-Cuz... I walked by yer classroom every goddamn chance I got so I could get a peek at ya workin' all seriously and lookin' all hot so I know how yer desk looks- God DAMNIT, I bet yer thinkin' I'm a stalker, huh? I s-sound like a total creeper, right? UGH. FUCKING. SHIT SHIT SHIT." Flustered, he made a move to leave the classroom, but Ishimaru latched onto his wrist.

"N-No! That is not the case at all, Oowada!" Ishimaru bellowed, quickly letting go of Oowada's wrist and bringing his hands in front of his mouth to hide his embarrassment. "I... I have never been able to keep my eyes off of you, ever since I first saw you at the teacher introduction! I have always longed to be able to talk to you but I was just too shy and awkward to approach you, so I've always been admiring you from afar! I've always found you intriguing! I've always wanted to become closer to you!"

Oowada stared at him, stunned by Ishimaru's reciprocation of his feelings. Then, he cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"TH-THEN! Um...!" he stuttered, "D'you wanna... go for c-c-coffee? T-To get to know each other better, I mean!"

Wait.

Did  _Oowada Mondo_ just ask him out?

His emotions seemed to explode all at once, the mix of adrenaline and excitement and sheer joy causing tears to stream down his reddened cheeks.

Oowada yelled, "W-Wha? Shit, no! I fuckin' made you cry! I... I'm sorry, I'll leave!"

"No! I accept your invitation! These are merely tears of joy, Oowada!"

"O-Oh. Then, uh, let's go!"

 

That date was the first of many for the pair, and a month later, Oowada presented Ishimaru an exact replica of his vintage desk (albeit two extra drawers and different grooves and designs). Ishimaru had cried upon seeing the desk, so close to the original, and had bawled even more when Oowada asked him to be his boyfriend. Of course, the P.E. teacher was so loud that everybody in their vicinity heard, but nothing else mattered to Ishimaru at the moment. After pining from afar for so long, he and Oowada were finally so much closer than he could have ever thought was possible.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm used to writing long, winded, lyrically descriptive stories, not short one-shots like this was supposed to be. gah. But I hope you enjoyed, anyway! :) Maybe I'll write more Teacher!AU ishimondo one shots in the near future!


End file.
